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History of Wheel of Fortune
Season 1 (1983-1984) *The 24-space wheel from Wheel of Fortune's first season consisted of the following: Lose a Turn, $450, $150, $200, $100, Free Spin, $200, $300, $400, $500, $1000, $200, $300, $175, $750, Bankrupt, $350, $250, $600, $400, $150, $200, $250, $400. *If a contestant landed on the Free Spin space, a Free Spin is automatically given to the contestant. *In the second round, it would look like this: Lose a Turn, $800, $150, $500, $400, $250, Bankrupt, $400, $550, $300, $200, $900, $200, $400, $300, Bankrupt, $600, $250, $200, $1000, $150, $300, $700, $450. *In the third round, this is what the wheel would look like: Lose a Turn, $350, $250, $500, $5000, $300, $800, $1500, Bankrupt, $700, $500, $350, $400, $550, $300, $200, $900, $200, $400, $500, Bankrupt, $600, $250, $200. *After the end of each round, prizes are presented by Jack Clark. *In the final round, the host would often automatically give the wheel a Final Spin. *For this season, the contestant him/herself would say out five consonants and one vowel. Season 2 (1984-1985) *For Season 2, the same wheels from 1983 were used. But in the second round, the first $150 space was topped by a prize tag. *If time ran out, the bells would ring, and the host would immediately give the wheel a Final Spin. Season 3 (1985-1986) *The wheel made some changes. This time, the lowly $100 space was now worth $700, the $175 space was changed to $800, and the last $200 space was now $900. *In the second round, the $300 space next to the Bankrupt was changed to $500, and the second $150 space changed to $600. *No changes were made to the wheel in the third round. Season 4 (1986-1987) *In Round 1, the $200 space was moved to after the $250 and $400 spaces, right before the "Lose a Turn" space. The $100 space returns. The $1,000 sapce was lowered to a mere $100, and the $175/$800 space was now worth $500. Season 5 (1987-1988) *The all-cash format began with Season 5. The $100 space was once again $700, and the $175 space was once again $800. *For Round 2, the wheel would stay the same as the previous round, but with the $1000 space replaced by a glittering blue $2,500 space. *In Round 3, the wheel now looks like this: Lose a Turn, $500, $400, $250, Bankrupt, $900, $3500, $250, $900, $200, $400, $550, $200, $500, Bankrupt, $600, $200, $1000, $600, $300, $700, $450, $150, $800. *In the fourth round, the $150 space is once again topped by a prize tag. *The fifth round has the wheel looking like this: Lose a Turn, $350, $250, $500, $5000, $300, $800, $500, $700, Bankrupt, $1500, $350, $900, $300, $250, $900, $200, $400, $550, $200, $500, Bankrupt, $600, $200. *The grand prize for cash, worth $25,000, is introduced. Season 6 (1988-1989) *Starting with Season 6, one of the $600 spaces was uppered to $900 in the first round. *In the second round, the Free Spin space was replaced by an ordinary $300 space. In later rounds, all the other 1987 wheels were retained. *Beginning with this season, the six letters (R, S, T, L, N, E) are always begun with, and the contestant would choose three more consonants and a vowel (ex: F, K, B, I). Season 7 (1989-1990) *When Season 7 premiered, it had a new theme song. Also starting on this season, contestants could appear on up to three episodes. *A new sound effect was made for the Bankrupt space. *Beginning with Season 7, in the Bonus Round, the contestant would choose an envelope with a prize in it (there are five, each with the letters spelling the word "WHEEL"). Season 8 (1990-1991) *Starting with Season 8, a letter had to be called out correctly in order to win the Free Spin token, which is on the $300 space, located two spaces after the $500 space where the Free Spin space used to be. *In Round 2, the $250 and $500 spaces cloest to "Lose a Turn" switch places on the 1987 wheel. *For Round 3, another prize tag would cover up one of the $300 spaces on the same wheel from 1987. Season 9 (1991-1992) *The Free Spin token is now on the $400 space at the beginning of the show. In Round 1, the first $150 space is uppered to $500. *From this year, in Round 2, the $150 space is covered with a prize tag. *Round 3 has the same wheel from 1990. Season 10 (1992-1993) *Beginning with Season 10, the first $200 space has a Surprise tag on it. The Free Spin token moves to the $200 space closest to "Lose a Turn". *A new theme song was composed. Season 11 (1993-1994) *Wheel of Fortune moves to Hollywood. *No changes were made to the wheel, but the word "Surprise" on the pink tag was stretched to fit it completely. Season 12 (1994-1995) *With yet another theme song composed for the 12th season, the first custom Wheel of Fortune logo began. *The Free Spin token moves back to the $300 space. *Starting on November 28, a $10,000 wedge was added on one of the two Bankrupt spaces in Round 3. If a contestant's spin stops on this wedge, if it points at one of the two Bankrupts on the wedge, the contestant loses a turn and all of his/her money If it points at the $10,000 value, a contestant can call out a letter and try to win the $10,000 prize. Season 13 (1995-1996) *In Round 1, the $1,000 space was glittered. *The Free Spin token moves back again to the $200 space closest to "Lose a Turn". *The house minimum for solving a puzzle is uppered to $500. *For Season 13, a Double Play token would appear on one of the $300 spaces (later $250) on the wheel. It can be used to double a spin's value. Season 14 (1996-1997) *Like Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune was now filmed at Sony Pictures Studios. *The wheel no longer changed round by round, had a more colorful look, and looked like this in the first round: Lose a Turn, $250, $400, $500, Bankrupt, $900, $300, $250, $900, $250, $400, $550, $250, $500, $300, $600, $250, $1000, $600, $300, $700, $450, $350, $800. *The Surprise wedge was now on the $400 space between "Lose a Turn" and "Bankrupt", and the Free Spin token was on the $300 space closest to the first Bankrupt space. *In Round 2, the $350 space is topped with a prize tag, the $10,000 wedge is on the orange $300 space, and like before, the $1000 space is upgraded to $2,500. *In Round 3, the $300 space closest to the now $3,500 space is replaced by a Jackpot space. If a contestant solves the puzzle after spinning a Jackpot, he/she would win all the money the Jackpot currently has. In addition, the orange $300 space is now a second Bankrupt space. The Jackpot begins at $5,000. *For the final round, the silver $5,000 space returns. Season 15 (1997-1998) *On February 24, a new puzzle board appeared for the rest of the show, where the host simply touches the screens instead of turning them around. After a contestant solves the puzzle, the board fills itself up. *On April Fool's Day, Alex Trebek hosted the show. Lesly Sajak was now in place of Vanna White, and only two contestants competed here -- the original hosts of the show. *Starting on Season 15, yet another new theme music replaced the 1994 theme. Season 16 (1998-1999) *Somewhere beginning in Spring 1998, the Surprise tag was removed from the wheel. In addition, the host would announce that each contestant will have three seconds (instead of five) to solve the puzzle during the Speed-Up Round. *In the Bonus Round, the $25,000 prize was available on every show. *The official Wheel of Fortune website (http://www.wheeloffortune.com) was launched in 1998. The original website featured a behind-the-scenes look at the show and an online interactive game. *For Season 16, the first two pink $250 spaces are uppered to $300, and the purple $500 space is lowered to $250. Also, the pink $250 space next to the "big money" space is now a yellow $300 space. In the Jackpot Round, the Jackpot space replaces the green $500 space, and the orange $300 space next to it is again a Bankrupt space. *After the credits is a red Wheel of Fortune Online logo, which has animation just like the 1998 Jeopardy! Online logo. Season 17 (1999-2000) *The 17th season's wheel was like this: Lose a Turn, $300, $400, $600, Bankrupt, $900, $300, $500, $900, $300, $400, $550, $800, $500, $300, $600, $300, $1000, $600, $300, $700, $450, $350, $800. The dollar values on the wheel were also given white outlines. *Later in Season 17, $1,000 was added to the value of the spin during the Speed-Up Round. Season 18 (2000-2001) *For Season 18, two Toss-Up puzzles were played. Whoever rings in and solves the puzzle corrently wins $1,000 in each round. Season 19 (2001-2002) *For Season 19, three Toss-Up puzzles would be played -- each worth $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000. Also, the $100,000 cash prize was introduced for the Bonus Round. Season 20 (2002-2003) *Mystery Wedges were introduced for Season 20. Two wedges, each containing $500 spaces, have either a "Bankrupt" or a special prize (such as an economy car). If either wedge is revealed, the other becomes a regular $500 space. Also, for the Final Round, there are now two cars, cash prizes from $25,000 to $50,000, and the grand prize of $100,000. Season 21 (2003-2004) *During Season 21, the "4,000th" episode of Wheel of Fortune aired on November 10, 2003. Season 22 (2004-2005) *For Season 22, Prize Puzzles were introduced, and whoever solves a Prize Puzzle will also win a special prize. Also, the Mystery Wedges now have $1,000 spaces. Season 23 (2005-2006) *The house minimum for solving a puzzle becomes $1,000 as of Season 23. Season 24 (2006-2007) *From Season 24 onwards, for every consonant called out, if a contestant landed on the Jackpot space, $500 was awarded for each of that same consonant appearing in the puzzle. A Wild Card was also introduced. This allows the contestant to call out a fourth consonant in the Bonus Round, or call out another consonant for the same value the Wheel has just landed on during the game. Season 25 (2007-2008) *For the show's 25th season, a special prize wedge called "25" was used. Behind it would either be a $2,500 cash prize or $2,500 worth of other things. Season 26 (2008-2009) *The $10,000 wedge is replaced by the $1 Million wedge starting on Season 26. Whoever lands on the $1 million peg of this wedge must call out a consonant before picking up this prize. If the contestant with this wedge avoids all Bankrupts and wins the game, he/she can play for $1 million during the Bonus Round. The first $1 million winner was Michelle Loewenstein (who appeared on October 14). Season 27 (2009-2010) *For Season 27, a Free Play space was introduced, replacing the Free Spin token. Whoever lands on this space can call out a consonant (each with $500), a vowel without any cash taken, or solve the puzzle without any penalties for solving incorrectly. *Starting this season, there are always two Bankrupts on the wheel in every round. Season 28 (2010-2011) *For Season 28, in the Bonus Round, the $25,000 cash prize becomes defunct, leaving behind the $30,000 to $50,000 cash prizes still on duty. In addition, any cars won by the contestant will also include $5,000 in cash. But, after Halloween, the long-lasting announcer, Charlie O'Donnell, passed away. Many announcers replaced him after that time. Season 29 (2011-2012) *Jim Thornton became the new permanent announcer for Season 29. There's a rumor he might replace Johnny Gilbert for Jeopardy! if Gilbert dies. Season 30 (2012-2013) *Once AGAIN, the wheel is modified. In fact, one of the $600 spaces becomes a $650 space, which has never appeared on the show for 29 years. Season 31 (2013-2014) *The Jackpot Wedge is discontinued, and in its place is a new Express Wedge, where if a contestant lands on this space, that player can continue to call out letters in the puzzle, with each consonant worth $1,000, and the vowels, which will still cost $250, up until he/she is able to solve the puzzle. If a letter that is not in the puzzle is called out, or if the puzzle is solved incorrectly, the player goes bankrupt and loses his/her turn. This Express Wedge was first filmed on July 27, 2013, and premiered on September 16, 2013. Season 32 (2014-2015) *On the week of April 28–May 2, 2014, a $6,000 space replaced the silver $5,000 space in Rounds 4 onwards. *As of Season 32, $500 is now the minimum available amount on the wheel. Season 33 (2015-2016) *The last time six Bankrupts were hit in a row was on March 18, 2015. *The first time the One Million ($1,000,000) envelope was hit but the contestant did not win it occurred on April 2, 2015. Season 34 (2016-2017) *On the final week of Season 33 (June 6–10, 2016), the Crossword Round was introduced. The puzzle board would display three to five interlocking words. It became permanent with Season 34 onwards. Season 35 (2017-2018) *For the first time in history of Wheel of Fortune, two contestants hit the One Million ($1,000,000) envelope but neither won it. *In one episode, the Bankrupt whistle was heard when one contestant hit "Lose a Turn". Season 36 (2018-2019) *For a fourth season in a row, the wheel sees no changes in any round. Category:Wheel of Fortune